Former defenseman joins club as an assistant coach

The Philadelphia Flyers have hired Gord Murphy as an assistant coach, according to general manager Ron Hextall. In conjunction with the hiring, Hextall also announced that John Paddock will not return for the 2014-15 season.

“Gord brings a wealth of experience as a player and as a coach at the NHL level.” Hextall said. “We are excited to have Gord on our staff and look forward to him working with our defensemen and the rest of our coaching staff.”

“We’d like to thank John for being an integral part of our organization and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

GORD MURPHY

Murphy, 47 (3/23/1967), will be entering his 12th season as an NHL assistant coach. He was most recently an assistant coach for the Florida Panthers, a position he held from July 6, 2010 until November 8, 2013. He entered the coaching ranks in 2002 with Columbus following his retirement as a player, and held that job until June 15, 2010.

Murphy was drafted by the Flyers in the 9th round (189th overall) of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. After four seasons playing junior hockey in Oshawa, he joined the Hershey Bears, then the Flyers’ NHL affiliate, for the 1987-88 season and helped them to a Calder Cup championship.

Murphy made his NHL debut with the Flyers at the start of the 1988-89 season and spent the next 3 ½ seasons in Philadelphia, recording 31 goals and 97 assists for 128 points and 43 PIM in 261 games. He was traded to Boston along with Brian Dobbin and a 1992 third-round draft pick (Zergi Zholtok) in exchange for Garry Galley and Wes Walz on January 2, 1992.

Murphy was selected by the Florida Panthers in the 1993 expansion draft and also played for Atlanta before returning to Boston to wrap up his career. In 862 NHL games, Murphy recorded 85 goals and 238 assists for 323 points along with 668 PIM. He posted three goals and 16 assists for 19 points in 53 career playoff games, including runs to the Wales Conference Finals with the Flyers in 1989 and Boston in 1992, and the Stanley Cup Final with Florida in 1996.

“I’m very excited and really looking forward to the opportunity and challenge of working with the Flyers organization and with Craig Berube and his staff,” Murphy said. “I couldn’t be more thrilled for this opportunity for myself and my family coming back to Philly. As a former player and now the last 11 years in my role as an assistant coach, I consider myself a good teacher with a good balance of experience. I really look forward to working with and mentoring the defensemen everyday by having them continue to improve and get the Flyers to where we all want to be.”

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